I wasn’t able to watch the game today, what with being busy going through the commencement ceremony for my MBA program (YAYYY!), but I still felt the need to take a quick moment tonight to express the fantabulocity of the Reds sweeping the Cardinals. Last season, I took the Reds’ inability to beat the Cards in those emotionally charged games as foreshadowing of their inability to master their nerves in the postseason. Does this mark a change in the fortunes of the team? Either way, it was awesome sauce.

Boxscore

How sweep it is!

The Cincinnati Reds completed their sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals today, winning 9-7. And they finally tagged a loss on Chris Carpenter, too boot.

The win completes the division flip-flop. Coming into the series, the Cardinals had a 1.5 game lead on the Reds. Leaving it, the Reds were the on with the 1.5 game lead.

Carpenter started for St. Louis, and while always a loser, he was so officially today. In 6 1/3 innings, he allowed 8 runs–7 earned. That offense for the Reds was provided by homers from Ramon Hernandez and Chris Heisey; Brandon Phillips and Jay Bruce also drove in a pair each.

The Cardinals took an early lead but lost it and didn’t put up much of a fight until the 9th inning when the Reds bullpen flirted with giving the game away–and raising the blood pressure of all Reds fans.

Instead, closer Francisco Cordero came in and finished things off, but not without a little whiny bitching from the St. Louis bench. On an 0-2 count on Albert Pujols, Cordero went inside and hit Pujols on the wrist.

“Just a little fun,” Cordero said. “I think it was because I hit Pujols 0-2, Gerald Laird was all loud in the dugout. He was yelling at me and pointing at me and saying a whole bunch of stuff. Out of all the guys that are great hitters, great players, Gerald Laird doesn’t even play. He’s the one yelling at me because I hit Pujols 0-2. 0-2! I wasn’t trying to him.

“I’ve got to face Holliday next, who can take the lead with one swing, one of the best hitters in the NL, and he’s yelling at me. All I know is he was loud, so I say something back to him.

“I’ve got nothing against the Cardinals. I’ve been in this game a long time and I won’t disrespect anybody. I look in the duout, Pujols was sitting down, he was quiet, because he knows I wasn’t trying to hit him. This stuff happens.”

Always fun when these two teams play. It’s nice to see the Reds take a series and a lead in the season schedule at 4-2.

Try “Smoked Cardinal” during the St. Louis series

CINCINNATI (May 10, 2011) – The grand opening of Great American Ball Park’s newest themed dining destination Mr. Red’s Smokehouse is scheduled for Friday, May 13 when the Reds play the St. Louis Cardinals.

Mr. Red’s Smokehouse will serve savory smoked meats such as beef ribs, turkey legs, chicken wings and pulled pork sandwiches along with corn on the cob, macaroni & cheese and creamy coleslaw.

Inspired by barbecue shacks throughout the country, Mr. Red’s Smokehouse has been constructed from repurposed and locally-sourced materials such as rough-cut oak barn siding, reused industrial lumber logs and salvaged steel support columns.

Just like back in the day when smokehouses were made from whatever materials were available, Mr. Red’s Smokehouse keeps that authentic feel with a bar made of polished concrete set on strapped wood barrels and beer kegs on ice in a bath tub salvaged from a renovated Over-The-Rhine building.

Located at the end of the first base concourse overlooking the Ohio River, fans can enjoy the smoked meats at high-top wooden tables or belly-up to the bar and enjoy a cold beer.

Menu
Representatives from the Reds and Delaware North-Sportservice researched the best smoking techniques and adapted the best recipes from the region to develop the menu.

The menu offerings at Mr. Red’s Smokehouse include:

• Smoked Beef Ribs
• Smoked Turkey Legs
• Smoked Pulled Pork Sandwich
• Smoked Chicken Wings
• Corn on the Cob
• Macaroni & Cheese
• Creamy Coleslaw
• Domestic and craft beers

Rotating Menu Items such as “Smoked Cardinal”
New menu items will be featured each homestand tied to a visiting team and its regional cuisine beginning this Friday with the addition of Smoked Quail to the menu, being playfully named “Smoked Cardinal.”

Remember a couple years ago when that video of the storm blowing through Busch Stadium was all over the place?

Now you can enjoy even more windy footage from St. Louis, the heir-apparent to the Windy City. This is surveillance footage from the airport when the storm that delayed the first game of the recent Red-Cards series blew through:

Yes, letting that game proceed on schedule was a good idea.